The United States mostly withdrew from Iraq, US President Donald Trump stated on Wednesday at a press conference.
"I get along very well with [Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi]. We basically withdrew from Iraq, leaving very few troops there, " he said. "We will end these endless wars, these ridiculous endless wars. This was the worst decision in the history of our country." According to Trump, American military personnel should never have been in the Middle East.
"But we are leaving very quickly, in three years," the President said, then turning to the topic of presence in Afghanistan. The head of the White House claimed that the US is "very well dealing" with Afghanistan. "We have reduced our presence to a very small level. We have been operating there as a police force for 19 years. It's time for our soldiers to go home," he added.
The President again recalled that last autumn he withdrew the contingent from the Turkish-Syrian border: "Turkey can take care of itself."
In June, a joint statement by the US and Iraqi authorities following the talks in the framework of the strategic dialogue that began between them said that Washington would continue to reduce its military presence in Iraq in the coming months and would discuss with Baghdad the status of the remaining US military personnel in the country.
As the head of the Pentagon Mark Esper told Fox News on August 8, the US intends to reduce the military contingent in Afghanistan to less than 5 thousand people by the end of November.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Matt York / AP / TASS
Based on materials from TASS